FACE TO FACE
AN EYE ON ACCURACY
InspecVision ’ s managing director , Dr . Jan Antonis , shared his thoughts on industry challenges , artificial intelligence for metrology and new industrial trends with ISMR .
InspecVision ’ s Planar measurement system .
“ Recent new product launches include the AOI and Guidance and Verification systems , which both use AI to inspect sheet metal parts .”
Dr . Jan Antonis , InspecVision .
Award-winning InspecVision , based in Northern Ireland , specialises in the design and manufacture of computer vision-based measurement systems for industrial applications . Its inspection machinery can be used to carry out one-click , single-second field of view 2D , 2.5D and 3D measurements .
Manufacturers , particularly in the automotive and sheet metal industries , can use these systems to measure and obtain traceable results , without the need for hand tools or manual input . They can also link the system to computer-aided design ( CAD ) models to show users if a sheet metal part is in , or out of , tolerance with overlayed colour mapping .
Its managing director , Dr . Jan Antonis , shared his thoughts on industry challenges , artificial intelligence for metrology and new industrial trends with ISMR .
InspecVision won the 2021 Queen ’ s Award for Enterprise : International Trade .
ISMR : Please give a brief background to InspecVision and highlight any notable successes and achievements over the past two-three years .
JA : InspecVision was founded in 2005 by my father , Mike Antonis , and one of his colleagues ( one of the largest sheet metal manufacturers in Northern Ireland ) to create inspection solutions for the sheet metal industry . They had become frustrated with the lack of available options to inspect sheet metal parts . I was doing research in computer vision systems at the time and so we all got together to solve a practical challenge and manufacture a 2D measurement solution , Planar , primarily for sheet metal part production .
The company was started by engineers and is still very heavily focused on R & D , which includes continuously streamlining and improving our products . We currently employ around ten people .
In terms of achievements , we won the ‘ 2021 Queen ’ s Award for Enterprise : International Trade ’, the ‘ Federation of Small Business Northern Ireland Winner of High Growth Business of the Year ’ and a marketing award from the Chartered Institute of Marketing , Ireland ( in the last three years ). We were also ‘ Highly Commended ’ in the global player category of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce Awards 2021 . These awards recognised our substantial growth , on a global level , over the last number of years .
We have also worked with TRUMPF to integrate our sheet metal inspection system into its TruTops software to help create a closed loop smart factory . We became a TRUMPF Partner in 2021 and were , for the first time , part of the TRUMPF stand at the Blechexpo 2021 exhibition in Stuttgart , Germany , recently . You can also see our machines in TRUMPF Smart Factories and showrooms across the UK , U . S . and Germany .
ISMR : What are your views on the current global business climate for sheet metal professionals ? What about the climate in 2022 ?
JA : Our sheet metal manufacturer / subcontractor customers are mainly in the U . S ., China and then rest of world / Europe . Our products are largely made of sheet metal so our typical suppliers also tend to be our typical customers . We sell overseas through
38 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR December 2021 / January 2022